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The Envelope: We're live blogging the Emmys

August 29, 2010 | 1:06
pm

Turn your viewing of the Emmy Awards into a multimedia experience. Bookmark this Gold Derby blog. I'll be live blogging the Emmycast in order to give you expert perspective on what's up: Is this victory an upset? An outrage? Funny? Does it set a new record? I'm appearing live on the KTLA red-carpet pre-show from 3 to 5 p.m. PT, but as soon as I get back to the press room afterward and the Emmycast begins, I'll start typing here. Join us!

THAT OPENING "BORN TO RUN" DANCE NUMBER: It was kept so hush by Emmycast producers that I was briskly escorted from the theater on Saturday when I was discovered watching it staged during rehearsals. They didn't want any press members there to witness, but they hadn't told us ahead of time to avoid the act. So it wasn't fair that they tossed me out. And they may have ousted me, but there were other reporters in the theater who also saw the rehearsal (which went terribly bad) and they weren't tossed out. Word leaked all over the web about it. I better not be blamed for blabbing!

ERIC STONESTREET'S VICTORY AS BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR: It shouldn't be surprising to those who've followed the punditry here at The Envelope. Actors are chosen based upon the episodes they submit -- one per nominee to judges. Stonestreet submitted a hilarious segment in which he appeared as a clown. But he may have won thanks to another factor too: extra face time. There are two other "Modern Family" costars in this category. That means they all get face time on each others' episodes when judges view all of the segments. That same phenomenon probably helped Edie Falco win best drama actress back in her "The Sopranos" days when she was nominated against costar Lorraine Bracco. I can say with certainty that Felicity Huffman won best comedy actress of 2005 thanks to being nominated against "Desperate Housewives" costar Marcia Cross. Huffman's performance on her own episode submission wasn't very good, but she was fantastic in Cross' submission.

JANE LYNCH'S VICTORY: Everybody saw that victory coming. She submitted the Madonna episode of "Glee." She may be only a supporting player on that show, but she was the lead shining star in that knockout episode.

Jim Parsons' victory is a giant defeat for the Emmy theory that size matters. Rival nominee Tony Shalhoub had the longest episode weighed by judges in this category. It was the two-hour series finale of "Monk" in which the quirky TV detective finally solves the one case that's eluded him throughout his career: his wife's murder. But Parsons' episode certainly had a whallop with award voters. In "The Pants Alternative" he accepts an award drunk at the lectern.

EDIE FALCO'S CONTROVERSIAL WISECRACK, "I'M NOT FUNNY!" -- That's what some Emmy bashers said when they noticed "Nurse Jackie" was entered in the comedy races. Maybe so, but the show has comedic aspects and Showtime showed shrewd strategy by entering in that genre. Not only did Falco just prevail, but "Nurse Jackie" nabbed a surprise nom for best comedy series.

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SHOW: "Top Chef" -- That's the biggest upset of the night so far! Wow! "This is something we never expected!" confessed its producer at the podium as he fumbled without a prepared acceptance speech. Of the nine "expert" pundits who gave their predix to The Envelope, only Maggie Furlong (AOL TV Squad) got this category right. Congrats, Maggie! I was convinced that the Emmys would finally pick "American Idol" because producers submitted the finale episode of the season that included the touching farewell to Simon Cowell.

WINNER: BEST WRITING OF A DRAMA SERIES: "Mad Men" ("Shut the Door, Have a Seat")

Oh, my predictions are sooo bad tonight.

Here's the order of the upcoming awards:

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTORBEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESSBEST LEAD DRAMA ACTORBEST DIRECTOR OF A DRAMA SERIESBEST LEAD DRAMA ACTRESSBEST WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIESBEST DIRECTOR OF A VARIETY SERIESBEST VARIETY SERIESBEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE/MINIBEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE/MINIBEST WRITING FOR A MOVIE/MINIBEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A MOVIE/MINIBEST DIRECTOR OF A MOVIE/MINIBEST LEAD ACTOR IN A MOVIE/MINIBEST MINISERIESBEST MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEBEST DRAMA SERIESBEST COMEDY SERIES

WINNER: Aaron Paul, best supporting drama actor, "Breaking Bad" -- OK, maybe his victory shouldn't be considered such a shockeroo. After all, of our nine expert pundits, two of the most prestigious picked him to win: Mike Ausiello (Entertainment Weekly) and Matt Roush (TV Guide). But the reason that the rest of us didn't was because, frankly, we gave up on Emmy voters. Last year Paul was a fave to win and most of us predicted he'd prevail, but he lost.

WINNER: BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS: Archie Panjabi, "The Good Wife" -- Literally, none of us pundits saw this one coming!

WINNER: BEST DRAMA ACTOR: Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" -- He pulls of a rare three-peat on a night when lots of new winners are breaking through in other top races. Most pundits were betting in this race on Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), so his triumph is a bit surprising.

WINNER: BEST DIRECTION OF A DRAMA SERIES -- Steve Shill, "Dexter" -- This is a big surprise to pundits who mostly bet on the finale of "Lost" to take this trophy.

WINNER: BEST LEAD ACTRESS: Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer" -- Even though most gurus bet on Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife") to win, we knew that Sedgwick was close behind based upon the oomph of her episode submission.

WINNER: BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES/MOVIE: David Strathairn, "Temple Grandin"

WINNER: BEST WRITING FOR MINISERIES/MOVIE: "You Don't Know Jack"

WINNER: BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES/MOVIE: Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin"

WINNER: BEST DIRECTOR OF A MINI/MOVIE: Mick Jackson, "Temple Grandin"

WINNER: BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A MINI/MOVIE: Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"

WINNER: BEST MINISERIES: "The Pacific" (of course)

WINNER: BEST TV MOVIE: "Temple Grandin" (of course -- but, wait! How did "Temple Grandin" sweep nearly all of the top races, but not claim the writing award too?)

WINNER: BEST DRAMA SERIES: "Mad Men" -- third victory in a row. Much deserved, say the TV critics. But poor "Lost" got lost along the way. "Dexter" probably would've had a good chance to win if it hadn't gone off the air so long ago (last December).

WINNER: BEST COMEDY SERIES: "Modern Family" -- Victory not a shock. Nearly all pundits picked it to win, but let's recall that "Glee" led with the most nominations (19) and it seemed to have the most media buzz.